Flowers and Flags

We really enjoyed our Memorial Day weekend this year though we stayed close to home. Memorial Day weekend for us has traditionally been used for one of two things. We either work outside around the house or we take a short trip. Last year we went camping but this year we did the yard work. We worked very hard Saturday and again on Monday making our yard look as nice as it has in a long time and probably as nice at it will look all year. The lawn is mowed, the flower beds weeded and bushes trimmed. Everyone pitched in, though it was hard to get Maura motivated on Saturday morning.

On Sunday we took the day off from our labors to visit friends. We went to a barbecue on Sunday evening where we enjoyed the company of friends old and new as well as plenty of great food outside in perfect weather. There were dozens of people at the event so I found it stressful. I’ve always been a shy person and I’m not always comfortable around strangers, particularly when I meet many at once. Maura, fortunately, is not shy and she had a great time. She makes friends wherever she goes.

On Monday we had more work to do but first Maura and I went to the Town of Weymouth’s Memorial Day Parade. The East Weymouth Congregational Church, where I am a member, is directly across the street from the small park where the parade route begins. As a public service the church offered water to the parade participants and also made our restrooms available to any who needed them. I was there to pass out water. Maura came along to help but she was mostly interested in watching the parade. She waved a flag as it went by. It was good to be at the ceremony at the start of the parade that commemorates those who lost their lives fighting for our freedom. We stood respectfully while the flags were raised, taps was played on a lone bugle and a salute was fired. It can be easy to forget the meaning of the holiday amid the sales and barbecues but this simple ceremony helped us remember.

The church lawn is not a bad place to view a parade. The parade route starts there so we can see it all before it starts moving. There was a small contingent from the National Guard, the police and firemen in their dress uniforms, local veterans’ group chapters and service clubs, the high school marching band and the Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, led by Boy Scout Troop 2 with a spectacular, and loud, flag and drum core.

After the parade it was back to work. While we were there Jennifer had gone to buy plants and they had to be put in the ground. She bought tomatoes and herbs. We’ve had good luck growing both of them in the past and they will add great flavor to our summer and autumn meals if we are as successful this year. The herb garden is in the spot recently occupied by Maura’s sandbox which she had stopped playing in. We’ve laid it out to be attractive as well as useful. The varying greens of the different herbs are set off by a ring of blooming marigolds, which also help to keep rabbits away. The garden is decorated with a fairy house made from an old chimney pot. Maura made furniture for it so the fairies should be quite at home there. The garden is guarded by a concrete cat, always poised to pounce on anything that might make trouble. Maura helped with the planting, particularly of the marigolds, and so far she’s been doing a good job of watering every day.

The Boston String Quartet at Sanctuary Hall

On Saturday March 31st we went to see the performance of the Boston String Quartet at Sanctuary Hall, otherwise known as the East Weymouth Congregational Church. It was a treat for me to celebrate my birthday which was on Sunday. I’ll admit to being prejudiced in favor of the East Weymouth Congregational Church because I am an active member of the congregation but the truth is that the church is an amazing place to see a concert. The sanctuary is an intimate space with great sight lines and fantastic acoustics. Musicians love to perform there because they sound their best. The ticket prices were another reason why this was a great show to see. Adult tickets were only $10 each and a family ticket was $20 so Jennifer and I brought Maura for free. Home baked goodies were available before the show and at intermission for a pay-what-you-can donation.

The Boston String Quartet gave a great show. They played with energy and style and it was clear that they enjoyed what they were doing. Most of the pieces that they played were from their most recent CD which was recorded in the sanctuary at East Weymouth Congregational. The concert this year was offered as payment for those recording sessions. Most of the pieces that were played were arrangements of pop songs or folk songs from around the world, all arranged by members of the quartet. It was a very eclectic mix that ranged from Michael Jackson to Taiwanese folk songs and included Santana and the Charlie Daniels Band.

You might expect that pop songs played by a string quartet might sound like something you would expect to hear on an elevator but nothing could be further from the truth. All of the pieces were interesting and exciting to listen to. The range of sounds that the Boston String Quartet produced from their instruments was astounding and included many that I wouldn’t expect to hear from stringed instruments. Maura enjoyed the music as much as I did and wanted the CD. We purchased the latest one plus an the earlier one and we’ve enjoyed listening to both of them.

The Boston String Quartet is active in supporting music education and frequently travels around the country working with high school students. A portion of the CD sales goes to support these activities. They will also be in concert at Jordan Hall on April 15 to benefit music education. They will perform with the Grammy winning Turtle Island Quartet, Jeanette Olson from Glee!, the Xibus World Orchestra (composed of students from around the country) and other special guests.

Concert at Sanctuary Hall

Last Saturday the Ellett family attended the Jake Armerding Trio concert at the East Weymouth Congregational Church where the sanctuary had temporarily become a music hall. We were fortunate to get tickets at half price by purchasing them last week at the church fair but we saw a great show that would have been worth every penny of the full fifteen dollar ticket price.

The Jake Armerding Trio consists of Jake Armerding on guitar, fiddle and vocals; father Taylor Armerding on mandolin and vocals; and brother Jesse Armerding on drums. They played an eclectic mix of folk, bluegrass, gospel and rock-and-roll with a hint of jazz thrown in. Most of the songs were originals with the exception of the encores. The final encore was a fantastic cover of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” that raised the roof. All the songs were played with honesty and feeling. The up-tempo tunes had a great deal of energy. It was clear that the musicians enjoyed playing as much as I enjoyed hearing them.

I’m sorry to say that Maura didn’t seem to enjoy the music quite as much as I did. She seemed half asleep during most of the performance. She did wake up during Jesse Armerding’s drum solos which held her spellbound. Once or twice during the show she started whining. I admit that I wasn’t paying enough attention to her to get what she was whining about. In Maura’s defense the show was late for her and she was tired. I don’t think she got quite enough sleep the night before. Perhaps the homebaked goodies she had during the intermission improved her mood. She didn't whine during the second half of the show. When we asked her if she enjoyed the show afterwards she said she did.

Several times during the performance Jake Armerding commented on the great sound in the East Weymouth Congregational Church sanctuary. Musicians enjoy playing there because it has wonderful acoustics and makes them sound their best. The sanctuary can hold about 300 people in the pews and there are no bad seats. If you live on the South Shore, or not too far away in other parts of the Boston Metropolitan Area I recommend you come and hear it for yourself. Jake Armerding was the first event in the Music at Sanctuary Hall series at the church. Information on upcoming events can be found at http://www.eweyucc.org/specialevents.html.

My Helper Maura

Last weekend was a stressful and busy weekend for me. My activities centered on my church, East Weymouth Congregational. Saturday was our annual Christmas fair. The fair features a craft tables, raffles, a silent auction, home baked goodies and a snack bar featuring my own famous chili. It’s my mom’s recipe and I’m going to teach Maura how to make it soon, passing it down to a third generation of the family. As a member of the Stewardship Committee I helped plan the fair and, barring serious injury or death, I had to be there. My job was selling raffle tickets.

Friday was set up day, though I’ll admit there was little to do. The heavy work had already been done on Thursday night and no one had let me know so I wasn’t there to help. There were a few little things that still needed doing. I helped label the raffle cans and collected the gift certificates we were offering as prizes to hold until the morning. I’d brought Maura along because it was Friday afternoon after school and I had no place else to leave her. She enthusiastically helped with the decoration, helping to stick paper gingerbread men and holly leaves about to give the hall a festive look. Maura did more work on Friday than I did.

I know I can always count on Maura to work hard at a task if she is enjoying it. Given a chance to help decorate or set up for a fun event she’ll pitch right in and work with a smile. It’s not always that easy to get her to help out at home or do chores that have less appeal. She’s long been responsible for putting away her things in her room and in her corner of the living room and recently we’ve given her a few more chores. It usually takes a few reminders and occasionally a threat to withhold her allowance before she’ll do them. I’ll admit we haven’t given her pleasant things to do. She empties the dishwasher, which must seem like busy work, and cleans out the cat boxes. No one enjoys doing that. She’ll avoid both jobs unless pressed.

I can’t blame Maura too much for shirking on her chores. I’m not very good at remembering to do some of mine either, and for the same reasons. The dish washer get loaded and run, unless I’m very busy, and I get dinner made most days (once and a while I leave it for Jennifer). It can be weeks before I get around to mowing the lawn; I don’t need much of an excuse to put it off. Maura, I’m afraid, takes after me.